Figures of Earth
1923
Medium
lithograph in black with gray tint
Dimensions
image: 32.23 × 20 cm (12 11/16 × 7 7/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1964.8.595
Art Historical Context
Arthur B. Davies created this evocative lithograph titled *Figures of Earth* in 1923. Measuring just over 12 by 8 inches, the print was made in black ink with a delicate gray tint, a technique that allowed for soft tonal transitions and subtle atmospheric effects. As a work on paper from the National Gallery of Art’s renowned Rosenwald Collection, it exemplifies the growing importance of printmaking in early twentieth-century America, when artists embraced lithography for its ability to produce rich textures and reach broader audiences. The title hints at Davies’s interest in the relationship...
About the Artist
Arthur B. Davies · 1862–1928
Arthur Bowen Davies (1862–1928) occupies one of the most paradoxical positions in American art history: a painter whose own canvases were lyrical, dreamlike, and rooted in the classical tradition, yet whose organizational energy and curatorial vision helped force American audiences into direct confrontation with the European avant-garde. Born on 26 September 1862 in Utica, New York, to English and...